íbúi

íbúi is a term found in some West African linguistic and ethnographic contexts used to denote a dwelling place or residence within a village or community. It is frequently associated with Yoruba-speaking areas, where inhabited spaces are organized around family or lineage compounds and shared courtyards. The term emphasizes both the physical space of a house or group of houses and the social functions tied to home life, work, and communal activities.

In scholarly descriptions, íbúi helps describe how traditional settlements are structured and how spatial arrangement reflects social relations, land tenure, and kinship networks. A dwelling cluster designated as an íbúi may include multiple houses used by members of the same extended family, with resources such as water, granaries, and paths organized around the central courtyard or perimeter.

Variations and related terminology can occur across dialects and authors, with different terms sometimes used for individual houses, compound groups, or entire village quarters. Because the exact meaning of íbúi can differ by region and text, it is most often encountered in linguistic, anthropological, and historical discussions rather than as a fixed architectural category.

See also: House, Settlement, Yoruba language, Yoruba architecture.